More people killed at many speed camera sites

About a quarter of speed cameras have made no effective contribution to road safety, according to official figures released by the Department for Transport yesterday.

The first detailed analysis of camera sites, recording casualty rates before and after the equipment was installed, showed that numbers of accident victims had risen rather than fallen at hundreds of locations.

The report also disclosed that the Treasury rakes off a 20 per cent annual profit from camera-enforced fines, once the costs of the system are met.

Gordon Brown's department made almost £15 million in 2002-03.

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The casualty figures came in the returns from local authority and police force partnerships.

They showed that of the 1,793 sites studied, 384 registered an increase in numbers of people killed or seriously injured in the year following camera installation, compared with the average rate for the three previous years.

At dozens of other sites, the casualty rate was unchanged.

When traffic light cameras were included, the total number of installations apparently making no impact on accident rates exceeded 700.

The highest proportion of questionable camera sites was in Thames Valley, where deaths and injuries had increased at almost half the locations. The Wiltshire and Swindon police area, Derbyshire, Cleveland, London, West Yorkshire and Essex were also well above the national average.

Drivers' organisations claimed that the figures contradicted the Government's earlier assertions that few, if any, sites had weak justifications in safety terms.

The RAC said the report showed that many cameras were not in proven accident blackspots and called on the council-police partnerships to scrap them.

Susie Haywood, a spokesman, said: "The Government and the partnerships have an exceptionally long way to go to win the hearts and minds of motorists that cameras work to save lives and not just to make their wallets lighter."

The Association of British Drivers said scores of cameras had been located in response to single accidents on roads with otherwise excellent safety records.

At other sites, cameras were erected even though re-engineering of the road had taken place to reduce accident risk.

"The massive growth of cameras in the last four years has led to millions of speeding tickets being handed out in circumstances that are not related to the causes of accidents," added a spokesman for the group.

"Drivers' lives are being made a misery for nothing."

The department's study said that across the first 24 partnership areas, overall fatality numbers were down 40 per cent - roughly 100 people a year - at sections of road and traffic lights covered by cameras. Serious injuries were down by a similar proportion, while average speeds fell by eight per cent after cameras were introduced.

Alastair Darling, the Transport Secretary, said the statistics showed that cameras saved lives. But he accepted that some sites were making little difference to safety.

"Most sites have achieved good results," he said. "I have asked the partnerships to ensure that the cameras which have had less impact are needed and are still the best road safety solution."

However, decisions about the future of individual cameras remain with council and police officials. Mr Darling has no specific power to require partnerships to move or dismantle them.

The report said the total income from camera fines was £68.8 million in 2002-03. The partnerships had claimed £54.3 million to cover their operating costs, leaving a surplus of £14.6 million for the Treasury.

A succession of opinion surveys has shown that about three quarters of drivers believe that speed cameras are primarily to raise revenue rather than to improve road safety.

Tim Yeo, the newly-appointed shadow transport secretary, said that the DfT report underlined the need for a fully independent audit of speed cameras to establish safety requirements and determine their positioning.

"The suspicion remains that many cameras are only serving to raise revenue," added Mr Yeo.